My love affair with Chinese food is obvious to everyone. I spent a semester abroad in Hong Kong, and let me tell you some of my best memories include eating weird shit at street stalls at 4AM and then taking a light bus to the dorms. Alas, a decade later, here I am, making my own Chinese food. This recipe below is for stir-fried beef, which you can make with broccoli or peppers or whatever.

Flank steak is the perfect cut, slice it thin

Mix with cornstarch and seasonings, let sit for 30 minutes

stir fry in a hot wok

add your other cooked elements back in

Ingredients

1 lb flank steak

1 green pepper, cut into thin slices

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

1 onion, cut into thick slices

cornstarch

1 packet of seasoning from ramen noodles (or seasoned salt)

soy sauce

rice wine (or any cooking wine)

salt

pepper

Preparation

Cut your flank steak into thin strips, and put in a bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch (1 tsp at most), then add the seasoning packet, a swig of wine, a swig of soy sauce, and a dash of salt and pepper. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

In your wok, heat up some peanut or canola oil and fry the onions and peppers at the same time. When they are soft (you may need to add a bit of water as they are cooking), remove them from the heat. In the leftover oil, toss the garlic and ginger, and stir a little bit until fragrant. Add the beef and stir, until beef is nicely browned. Add the peppers and onions back in. Taste. Enjoy.

Troubleshooting tips: If your sauce is too runny, it probably means your beef was frozen and let out a bunch of water, or you otherwise messed it up. The solution is to remove the excess liquid, take a bit of cornstarch and mix it into the liquid in a cup, then pour the contents back in the wok and reduce until desired consistency. If your dish is too salty, you can add a bit of lime juice to cut the saltiness.